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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded a second $300,000 grant to Lycoming College to continue, over the next three years, a comprehensive, campus-wide sexual assault, dating and domestic violence and stalking (SV/DV) prevention program. The grant will support the College in extending the work it began under the same grant program in 2017, promoting a culture of “upstanding” where students, faculty, and staff actively create a campus free from SV/DV.
Lycoming was chosen as a continuing grant recipient because of the College’s success in carrying out the objectives of the federal grant program in raising SV/DV awareness, and in furthering internal and external partnerships that offer education and resources to students.
Provided through the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Grant Program, the funds will enable Lycoming to retain its current full-time project director and continue work on its Coordinated Community Response team to strengthen coordinated victim services and prevention education. Lycoming will also maintain its partnership with Wise Options for victim services, as well as the Williamsport Bureau of Police to train faculty, staff, campus public safety officers, and conduct boards for informed responses to SV/DV. Additionally, the grant offers resources to extend campus awareness and education initiatives, including Green Dot bystander intervention programming and the Red Flag Campaign, and support to equip an on-campus safe space for victim services. Enhanced orientation for new students and social media education will also continue, as well as coordinated and mandatory prevention education that reaches all students, through Catharsis Productions’ “U Got This” program.
“Sexual assault is a very real concern for many college students. We’re grateful to OVW for providing Lycoming College with resources that allow us to blaze a new path in educating communities on SV/DV prevention,” said Kate Hummel, associate dean of students at Lycoming College. “Programming brought about by the 2017 grant has been extremely well-received, and the results can be seen in red flags, green dots, and other symbols that students, faculty, and staff post around campus and on personal items, email signatures, and more. We look forward to continuing this great work.”
“With this grant, we will continue to strengthen a foundation for lasting behavioral changes and build relationships that will benefit our campus community for years to come,” said Kristina Travis, project coordinator at Lycoming College.
The Campus Grant Program, which is one of nearly 20 such grant programs administered by OVW, is “designed to develop the nation's capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims.”